3 day itinerary

A park where overnight stays are only really suitable for the more experienced campers and adventurers, the wilderness of the Everglades is a little different to much of the rest of the national park system.

The Everglades often polarises opinion - some people love it for its range of wildlife and ability to get fully immersed with the environment. While for others, the humidity and daunting creatures that lurk means they feel more at home in the elevation of the Rockies. Whatever you may feel about the park once you visit, you'll surely gain a special appreciation for its importance at the very least!

Our website relies on donations and affiliate links. If you click a link taking you to another website, and make a purchase, we may gain a small commission - at absolutely no cost to you. This helps us expand the website, so we can continue doing what we love!

Day 1

Drive about one hour from Miami head towards the main park entrance where the Ernest Coe Visitor Centre is located. Start your adventures off exploring by water, where an airboat is a pretty standard mode of transport in this part of the world! A few companies are licensed to enter the park but the experience will be virtually the same no matter where you go. Home to over 10,000 different species split amongst trees, fish, bugs and mammals, this biodiversity hotspot is recognised by UNESCO as both a world heritage site and biosphere reserve. Skim across the water courtesy of an expert pilot, providing a perfect opportunity to observe many of the animals in their natural habitat, including anhingas, frogs, fish and plenty of alligators!

Once you have returned to dry, stable land, your first stop inside the park will be for the Anhinga trail! A very popular and easy to access trail, it starts at the Royal Palm Visitor Centre. The boardwalk is 0.4 miles each way, and provides a slower wildlife experience compared to the airboat!

As you'll quickly see once you arrive, Mangrove trees line the waterfronts of this park and are essential for the ecosystem of many of the worlds wetlands. If you want to take a closer look at their structure and try to see the organisms which they can host, consider kayaking around them as part of a longer eco-tour with an expert guide, enriching your knowledge and giving your day structure. The trip departs near Everglades City so will be perfect later in your trip. Explore secluded coves as well as having the chance to see rarer sightings of many endangered species which the park aims to protect!

You'll likely have a bit of time still available to you today, so you can choose to head back and explore the iconic city of Miami, or focus on the neighbouring national park, Biscayne! This park is 95% water, meaning there are plenty of shipwrecks and marine wildlife making it perfect for divers, snorkelers and kayakers! The Biscayne National Park Institute offers a whole host of amazing educational eco-tours which you should definitely consider! Without some sort of boat, the park is unsurprisingly a little hard to traverse! Our full Biscayne National Park Guide will be coming soon!

Day 2

Drive the same route as yesterday, but progress further into the park to reach the coastal boundary of the wetlands at the Flamingo Visitor Centre. Grab an early bite to eat, with food trucks located at the Flamingo Marina through November to April - the main visiting season as the temperatures are more bearable than the humid and stormy summer.

For those looking for a challenging hike, the Coastal Praire Trail is probably one of the hardest in the Everglades. As it runs along the waters edge in many places, it is often difficult to navigate in spots and is not the most well developed of trails. Make sure to pack plenty of bug spray, waterproof boots, and stay vigilant for a variety of creatures as you navigate as much of the 15.0 miles out-and-back round-trip as you can! The trail turnaround point is at Clubhouse Beach - which might be the perfect opportunity to rest your legs, and dry your boots if it turns out they're not actually as waterproof as you hoped...

A more modest hike exists in the form of Bear Lake. Again, the trail is not particularly well maintained due to the presence of Cape Sable thoroughwort, an endangered plant species found only in south Florida, but is still accessible. The reward for the hike is the lake itself, with an expansive view nicely lined in parts by mangroves. 

​

Parking at the trailhead can be difficult at times if the park is busy, which can mean the hike is converted from 3.2 miles round trip to 7.2 miles if you park just before the Buttonwood Canal. So if a shorter hike is what you hope for today, then make sure to start your day early at Bear Lake.

For the afternoon, take some time to see the new Guy Bradley Visitor Centre in Flamingo. There are some great new exhibits, detailing the delicate environment you find yourself in. The centre also has binoculars - use them to watch thunderstorms roll in which are characteristic of the Gulf of Mexico. At the Activities Booth near the Marina fuel pumps, you can rent bicycles, canoes, kayaks, and motorboats, before enjoying a usually stunning Floridian sunset.

Day 3

Take in a different segment of the park for your final day in the Everglades by visiting the northern entrance close to Everglades City. On your drive over (if you've chosen to stay in Miami), take the junction off U.S. 41 for the Shark Valley Visitor Centre. A 15-mile round-trip route to a small observation tower starts here. Cycle rentals or tickets for a tram are available, with reservations recommended thru November-April.

The park's northern entrance will guide you down to Ten Thousand Islands, with the road ending at Chokoloskee, a strikingly isolated town formerly home to Native Americans but now reformed to host various recreational boating and fishing options. The 99-mile long Wilderness Waterway starts close by, which traverses the tropical wilderness to reach Flamingo. Ten Thousand islands is a spectacular part of the park, and there are some great excursions for you to explore the expansive archipelago. Don't forget this is also a brilliant location to enjoy a kayaking eco-tour of Everglades NP!

Once you return to dry land, Ten Thousand Islands is among the best and last remaining dark skies sites in coastal Southwest Florida. The further south you can move from Everglades City, the better the stars should be! Fingers crossed for a clear night for a memorable way to end your three days in this amazing park.

If you would like to visit all 3 of Florida's beautiful national parks, then our Florida Trio road trip tour guide is coming soon! You can also check out the other parks the Southeast has to offer!